Bitcoin Eyes $74K as BTC ETFs See Record $1B in Net Inflows

• Bitcoin reversed Tuesday's decline to climb above $73,000 early Wednesday.
• Spot BTC exchange-traded funds noted the highest inflows in both bitcoin and dollar terms since they started trading in January.
• Bitcoin's price behavior suggests institutional investors are leading the market activity, some observers said.

Bitcoin {{BTC}} climbed above $73,00 early Wednesday, adding 2.5% in 24 hours to reverse Tuesday’s losses after a $360 million liquidation event sent prices tumbling.

The gain followed a record day of exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows in terms of both dollars and bitcoin. Data tracked and cited by BitMEX Research shows spot bitcoin ETFs took in 14,706 BTC, or over $1 billion, in net inflows on Tuesday, surpassing a February record of $673 million.

[1/4] Bitcoin ETF Flow - 12 March 2024

All data in. Record day with over $1 billion of net inflow. Blackrock with a record $849 million of inflow pic.twitter.com/dKFmM3Qvaa

— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) March 13, 2024

Blackrock posted a record $849 million of inflows while Grayscale led outflows at $79 million. Total inflows crossed the $4 billion mark.

Some traders said that the bitcoin price action suggested institutional buying.

“The intraday nature of the move is reminiscent of the behavior of large institutional traders, with trading algorithms intercepting the move and retail traders often joining in,” Alex Kuptsikevich, a senior market analyst at FxPro, said in an email to CoinDesk. “Either way, the overall trend remains bullish, and bitcoin is back towards its highs as we head into early European trading.”

General market sentiment remains bullish among professional investors, as reported, with some expecting the market to run into a “sell-side crisis” later this year as buying demand from ETF continues to increase.